Colorado tailbacks coach Darian Hagan joined reporters following Wednesday evening's practice in Boulder, CU's 14th (out of 15) of the spring.
Hagan provided an update on the running backs as the Buffs prepare for Friday's scrimmage.
Deion Smith returns to practice:
Sophomore tailback Deion Smith, who missed the entirety of last season with a knee injury, has returned to the practice field with the Buffs, where he is not able to partake in individual drills with the rest of his position group.
It should go without saying that Smith re-enters a tailbacks room that is even more competitive than when he last took practice reps.
Aside from reigning Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year Jarek Broussard, 2019's lead rusher Alex Fontenot is back to full health, while freshmen Ashaad Clayton and Jayle Stacks have also seen a lot of action this spring, with both players earning the praise of Hagan and Karl Dorrell alike.
And then there's redshirt freshman Joe Davis, who is also fighting for a place in the greater rotation.
Smith undoubtedly will need to put together a near flawless summer workout period and fall camp if he is to be in a position to argue a case for snaps, but Hagan is confident that come the summer, Smith will be prepared to step up.
"Deion Smith is looking good — he’s doing individual drills with us and is looking like the old Deion," Hagan said. "In the last week and a half, he has been doing individual drills with the running backs and unbeknownst to him, I had been catering those drills strictly for him to get his confidence back."
"Monday and today, he was able to get in there with the quarterbacks and do some mesh drills. He’s fired up and when we come back in June, I think he’s going to cut loose. He’ll be ready to go.”
Alex Fontenot demonstrating his value to Karl Dorrell:
Karl Dorrell mentioned earlier this spring that he ultimately wound up getting to see Alex Fontenot practice for only a few days last fall before the junior tailback went down with an injury that proved to be season-ending.
Thus, this spring has been a period for Fontenot to showcase his abilities in front of his head coach.
After all, in 2019, Fontenot rushed for a team-high 874 yards as CU's No. 1 tailback.
While Broussard comes off a 2020 campaign in which he rushed for 813 yards — in just five games — Fontenot has looked to prove he belongs in the conversation in terms of guys who deserve handoffs come this fall.
Hagan has liked what he's seen thus far from Fontenot.
“For this guy to go out, had to miss all (of the 2020) season and watch Broussard have the type of season he had — (Fontenot) has a fire in his belly," Hagan said. "He’s doing a lot of really, really good things. His speed is back and he looks really, really fast."
"He’s always been good in (pass) protections and has been showing that this spring. I’m really excited for him and coach Dorrell — he hadn’t seen him (play) but for a couple days before he got hurt and I think what Alex is doing, the stuff that he is putting on film, is opening up coach (Dorrell’s) eyes.”
Jayle Stacks carving himself a role within Colorado's offense as spring comes to a close:
In the early fall of 2019, before he ultimately committed and signed with Colorado, Cherry Creek's Jayle Stacks had given Air Force a verbal pledge.
While that is all in the past now, it's not hard to imagine the 5-foot-11, 230-pound bruiser fitting in quite nicely within the Falcons' triple option offense.
With the Buffs last year, Stacks was used as a goal line lead blocker a number of times and so far this spring, he's turned into something of a Swiss Army Knife for Colorado.
Stacks has been utilized in the pass game, as a lead blocker and also, in part due to Broussard being limited this spring, has seen his fair share of handoffs.
While Hagan admitted Stacks won't be thee first-down back in terms of getting carries all the time, it seems that the Buffs do plan on making good use of their wrecking ball tailback.
“Jayle is a guy that will punch you in the mouth," Hagan said. "He’ll fight you to the end of the whistle. He’s everything you want: he’s blue collar, he’s going to strap it on and do what he’s asked to do. He’s a guy that I’m really, really excited for."
"He’s a guy that will get some carries — he won’t get a lot — but he’ll get some carries. When he’s running behind his pads and has his pads down, he’s a bruiser and nobody wants to get in the way.”
